


It’s Forever, Not Just For Now

by catlikeacat



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Best Friends, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Friends, Gen, Rating May Change, Trans Octane | Octavio Silva
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28990440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catlikeacat/pseuds/catlikeacat
Summary: Ajay and Octavio have always made an odd pair, even since that first night they met on the rooftop of a party they were both avoiding.Despite their differences both blood and circumstance tie them together as well as an unshakeable bond of friendship in the face of increasing obstacles.
Relationships: Lifeline | Ajay Che & Octane | Octavio Silva
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	1. The Boy on the Roof

**Author's Note:**

> I had this mostly done at the end of last year but I was in a major depressive slump I'm just barely crawling out of and I didn't want to start a SECOND fanfic I wasn't sure I was going to be able to complete.
> 
> But I'm doing pretty damn good now, so it's time for a wildly self indulgent friendship-based fic.

Ajay was young but already she knew, to some degree, that her dad was full of it.

This was something rather disappointing to already be aware of at the tender age of ten but Ajay’s always been ahead of everyone else.

Sometimes she envied them. She’d see the other kids blindly loving their parents, not having to scrutinize their every action for some nugget of deception. Those kids didn’t have to be pawns. Little play pieces for corporate ladder climbing. Didn’t have to wear fancy little dresses, crinkly and uncomfortable. Bright red and sparkly.

Right now her dad was drilling into her exactly how important this night was. Holding her small hands in his large ones just slightly too tight, like a pair of ill fitting handcuffs. He’d always kneel to get on her level and Ajay wasn’t entirely sure if it was meant to make him more relatable or more intimidating.

She was pretty sure it was the latter.

Apparently some old friend of her dad’s was hosting this party. “Mr. Silva.”

She’d heard the name before, the two had been friends long ago but had been far too busy running their businesses on different planets to see each other. But the nebulous Mr. Silva and his family had come back to Olympus to advertise some new pharmaceuticals. Corner the market here, her dad kept saying.

Her part to play in this was only slightly different than usual. She was supposed to find Mr. Silva’s daughter and the two of them were supposed to be best friends. They’d even signed both of them up for the same elite private school.

Were they normal families, Ajay would think that her dad wanted her and the unknown daughter to be friends just like he and Mr. Silva were.

But they were not normal families and Ajay knew that it would be a PR dream. All the better to paint their companies as wholesome. Newspapers would love it, they could be seen at parties in matching little dresses…

It made Ajay want to gag.

As her father approached Mr. Silva he was flustered, something about his daughter having run off to hide.

Ajay was relieved when she was given the vague task of “find the daughter.”

She could definitely make that a perfect excuse to do nothing but graze at the food table and lurk around in the dark corners of the venue. Avoiding everyone.

Running off, Ajay grinned. Maybe this party wouldn’t be so bad. Crinkly red dress aside.

\- - -

Within an hour, Ajay had just about had her fill of expensive cheese and horderves that she couldn’t pronounce without a glimpse of the missing girl.

There were a scant few kids milling about but none of them fit the bill. Unless the kid was adopted, the little blonde kids definitely didn’t belong to Mr. Silva. Was the daughter adopted? Her dad probably would have told her that.

Ajay didn’t mind. This just meant it was time to lurk around in the dark corners. Her favorite.

She was always short so it was easy to duck away unnoticed.

The hallway’s destination was unknown but the view was pretty. Gently sloping up and giving her a view of the whole city. As much as Olympus felt like a cage at least it was a pretty gilded one, sparkling and perfect.

It wasn’t long until Ajay had found her way to the rooftop garden, pleasantly surprised to find the door to it unlocked.

But she was more confused and alarmingly surprised to find a lone boy in an ill-fitting suit walking along the very edge of the building. Just about ten feet away, arms out wide to keep his wobbly balance. His back to her and every other step nearly toppling him over the edge of the fifty story building.

The danger of Ajay’s actions didn’t catch up to her until she was gripping his arm tightly, jerking him away from the edge, and yelling, “Are you stupid?!”

His answer was a yelp as he was pulled down onto the rocky path cutting through the bright pink trees. Rolling onto the grass, swearing in Spanish as he held his knee. Looking up at her with big, confused eyes, “What’d you do that for?!”

“I ain’t looking to get traumatized by seeing some dumb boy fallin’ off the side of the damn building!”

“I do it all the time, I never fa- OW!”

He held his head as she popped him one, “Why aren’t you down at the party?”

“Psh, probably the same reason as you,” he rubbed his black hair with a grimace, “I don’t feel like playin’ ‘cute accessory’ to my latest ‘mom’… okay, maybe not the same reason but, you know, like…”

“Similar,” Ajay stood up, “You might be right about that but I didn’t come up here t’play with my life.”

Brushing himself off, the boy stood up with a pout, “Well, maybe I did so. Get back down stairs, vámanos.”

He swept his hand towards the door, little indents from the rocks embedded in his hands.

Again he protested as his hand was grabbed, Ajay clicking her tongue at him, “Y’got rocks in your hands.”

“Yeah, because of you!”

Gripping his wrist, Ajay examined the boy. His suit, despite being ill-fitting and dirty, looked expensive. Not a surprise, he must be the kid of one of the people below. Many little bandaids littered up and down his limbs told her this was just normal behavior. If she had to guess, he was almost exactly her age.

“I’m sorry,” Ajay half apologized, “But just stick to climbing the trees and doing backflips off the benches or something! You’ll get yourself killed.”

The singular switch in his brain flipped, “I CAN do a backflip off a bench, wanna see?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, tugging to freedom, sprinting a few feet before hopping on one of the heavy concrete bench, before doing a front flip off the back. Just barely sticking the landing with his arms raised high.

“That was a frontflip, not a backflip,” Ajay crossed her arms with a smirk.

“Tch, you couldn’t do either so why are you judging mine?” he dropped his arms to his side, “Unless you got scorecards, I don’t wanna hear it.”

He only scowled harder at her as she laughed, approaching him.

“I’m Ajay,” she reached out her hand, a politeness trained into her from birth.

He looked at it like it was a trap before finally acquiescing and grabbing it, “Octavio.”

Ajay smirked, “Guess I’ll be babysitting you tonight. You got any ideas of things to do that won’t getcha ass killed?”

“So no cartwheels off the side of the building?” he sauntered away, looking up at the biggest tree in the center, “Is climbin’ a tree too hardcore for a goody two shoes like you?”

“One, I ain’t a goody two shoes I’m just sensible,” Ajay replied, following him and tugging at the edge of her uncomfortable clothes, “And two, no. Hell, if I wasn’t in this ugly dress maybe I’d join you up there.”

“Ha, sounds like somethin’ a goody two shoes would say,” Octavio was already on the lowest branch and reaching higher, “Scared to get your fancy dress dirty.”

“You ever tried climbing a tree in a dress?” Ajay shot back, “An’ these stupid dress shoes? They got heels on ‘em.”

“Sure have,” he stated confidently, halfway up and sticking out his tongue, “Because I’m not a goody two shoes.”

Despite having her doubts of his claims, she had to admit the fact she was ground bound and forced to watch someone else have fun was digging into her. Him currently dangling upside down with a dumb grin plastered on his face.

Pursing her lips, she grabbed the lowest branch.

Octavio was hooting in joy and delight as Ajay joined him up there, quick as a whip, “Damn girl, you can climb!”

“I want to be a mountain climber!” she threw a leg over a heavy branch and pulled herself up. Finally sitting on level with him, arms crossed, “How’s that for a goody two shoes?”

“Not bad,” he swung to be upright again, “Your parents know you wanna be a mountain climber?”

“Well, I want to be a doctor too,” she shrugged, “So I think if I do that they won’t mind me up on Mount Everest. Think they’d LOVE to brag about me doing that.”

“I’m gonna be a stuntman or a daredevil! My dad hates it!”

“Your dad know you’re practicing that up here?”

“Ha, I imagine by now my old man’s storming the whole building looking for me,” Octavio replied, swinging his legs, “Don’t got long until they drag me back downstairs to look cute and important.”

“Gonna have a hard time with that first one,” Ajay teased, “Especially with me hanging around you now.”

“Oh, so now you’re gonna follow me around after this too?”

“You complaining?”

The grin on his face said he wasn’t.

“Maybe you can help me down there too,” Ajay swung her legs, “My dad told me I was supposed to find Mr. Silva’s daughter. You ever met her before?”

Octavio’s grin dropped and whatever he opened his mouth to reply with was cut off. Muffled yelling echoed up from below, a man’s voice and a damn angry one at that. Sounded far away but was echoing up a floor or two.

“Mierda, my dad,” Octavio all but jumped out of the tree, barely even landing on the branches on the way down before calling up to Ajay from the ground, “Get down! If he sees you-”

He mimed slicing his own neck.

Ajay’s scramble down was a lot less elegant than her climb up. Panicking without even knowing who Octavio’s dad was or what he’d do. All thoughts gone from her head until one of her goddamn sparkly heels slipped on a branch and she watched the world flip upside down.

The void of thoughts rushed through a million as she fell to the ground and landed with a sickening crack.

Ajay yelped loudly and rolled off her now crushed arm. There was no visible damage to it but she’d broken it, she’d DEFINITELY broken it.

“Fuck!” Octavio yelped, practically sliding to her side to help her up gingerly, “Your arm…”

The man’s voice was closer, looking back towards the source Ajay narrowed her eyes through the pain. She’d always been good at remembering voices and that sounded like...

“Mr. Silva?” Ajay sounded confused, “Mr. Silva’s your dad?”

The look Octavio was giving her was hangdog and crushing as Ajay clicked a few pieces together in her mind.

Her voice got softer, “You don’t have a sister, do you?”

He shook his head, avoiding eye contact.

The voice grew closer and the other problem at hand pulsated, Ajay cringing in pain at her injured arm.

His attention was drawn by it too, “Shit, fuck, my dad’s gonna kill me… your arm…”

Neither had to say that very easily everyone would pin the blame on Octavio.

“I’ll do anything,” Octavio stopped himself from instinctively grabbing her arm, hand clasped in a mockery of prayer, “Just, cover for me.”

Looking at the source of the sound, she had just enough time.

A small smile on her face, she bargained, “I want your dessert at school for a month.”

Face twisted into shocked confusion, “What?!”

“Two months.”

“Fine, fine, deal, whatever,” Octavio waved his hands, “What about… the name thing?”

“That one’s on the house,” Ajay stepped forward and put a hand on Octavio’s chest and shoved, ”Now keep ya head down.”

He yelped as he fell backwards into the bushes but also listened to her demand, rolling over and scrunching up behind it to stay out of sight. Watching Ajay begin to walk around the bushes, clutching her arm to her chest, and sprouting some very believable crocodile tears.

The door to the roof slamming open. The voice of his surprised father discovering the crying little girl. Footsteps growing further away as he escorted her off the roof. The door again, this time slamming shut as they left.

Peeking up, Octavio found himself the only person on the rooftop.

But he didn’t feel so alone anymore.


	2. Lucky Rabbit's Foot

That first night had dictated the trajectory of Ajay and Octavio’s friendship for the next year. A particularly smart, resourceful girl and a reckless boy with poor judgement.

Octavio kept Ajay adventurous, Ajay kept Octavio from falling off the side of a building.

Teachers never knew what to do about the both of them.

They couldn’t fault their grades. Ajay had straight A’s across the board and, probably by the mercy of proximity, Octavio kept a solid mostly B’s. Maybe a C in History here and there, A’s in his extracurriculars and gym.

But it wasn’t a doubt that Octavio was a bit of a bad influence on her. The two had made a sport of passing notes. Every teacher knew they were doing it but they couldn’t catch it for the life of them.

Anytime some sort of mischief was going on, it always seemed like Ajay had some perfect excuse to stop a teacher from investigating it. A question about the homework, a test, what was going on in upcoming chapters. Leaving the distracted teacher to show up a minute late and a dollar short, hearing the pattering of rapidly escaping footsteps as Octavio fled the scene of the crime.

He could even talk her into skipping class now and again. Buying fast food with platinum credit cards outside their middle school, eating it behind the sports fields.

Surprisingly, the Ches were somewhat tolerant of that. Maybe it was because of Mr. Che and Mr. Silva’s own escapades when they were young. Or maybe it was because she was still on-course to graduate middle school with a 4.0 average.

They didn’t have much of anyone but each other though.

Parties always made that the loudest, this one so close to the last both in kind and proximity. Just one building over, due to construction to the upper floors of the other one.

This time it was a little less boring and miserable though, no longer a lone girl wandering but a couple eleven-year-olds with the sense and capabilities to hold a small scale heist and escape to the rooftops with their pilfered treats. Avoiding the prying eyes and cheek-pinching fingers of the raucous New Year’s party as midnight approached.

Cool air blew Ajay’s hair around, just the lightest chill as they pressed against the wall with their handkerchiefs full of pastries. Scaffolding afforded them more shelter than they usually would have up here, a bit of the construction from next door spilling out onto this building as well. Work lights left on, brightening up the rooftops but just barely. Roaring silence of the wind being drowned out by Octavio laughing and making bad jokes about their classmates at school through mouthfuls of sugar.

He was hiding something though. She’d noticed the bulge under his abnormally oversized suit jacket a while ago.

Playing it was cool as the wind sweeping across them she waited but even as they finished their pilfered treats he was still coyly keeping it concealed.

“Alright, Tavi, what’s in the coat?” Ajay made a move to prod at it that only got her hand smacked away, “Hate when you keep somethin’ from me because usually it’s something that’s gonna get me in trouble.”

Hopping up, he patted it abnormally gently, “It’s a surprise. For later.”

“And what exactly is ‘later’ to you? Gonna hide it the whole time the party’s going on?”

“Nope,” he got up, cradling it against his chest carefully and examining a small bridge placed between this building and the next, “But you gotta come with me if you wanna see.”

With a hop, skip, and a jump, Octavio was across the heavy planks and on the other building.

“This gonna be an annual thing?!” Ajay stomped after him, peering at him standing on the very rooftop they’d first met, “You almost killing yourself on that same damn rooftop?”

“Maybe!” Octavio patted the lump under his jacket, “But you don’t get to see my super cool secret unless you come over here too. So this year you get to risk your life too!”

“I ain’t doing that,” she crossed her arms, “Y’get back over here and show me what you have.”

“Nope!” Octavio chirped, “C’mon, it’s sturdy! You think those construction workers would be walkin’ all over it if it wasn’t?”

He had a point. If there was one thing Ajay respected it was the knowledge of people in their field of expertise. If you can build a building, you can probably build a makeshift bridge pretty solid.

And she really did want to know what he had and she’d now known him long enough to know that he would absolutely keep it under wraps forever if she didn’t play along.

“If you shake this bridge while I’m crossing, I’ll kill you,” Ajay carefully approached the bridge.

It was sturdy but the wind sweeping across her made her shake to her bones, eyes squinting against it. For a second she thought she was going to have to make good on her threat to kill him as Octavio approached but he only grabbed her wrist and pulled her across a little faster.

If it wouldn’t jeopardize knowing the secret, Ajay would have made a crack about him being worried about her.

This was far from the first time they’d been back on that rooftop. Despite breaking her arm up there they’d been allowed to slink back up there many times. With minimal supervision. But it was still their go-to whenever their parents were hosting a party in the five star catering ballroom below.

But it was the first time this year and that made it feel special, at least a little bit.

“Alright, cough up the goods,” Ajay followed him towards the center of the small garden area where that damned tree was, “If it’s somethin’ lame I’m gonna push you off the roof myself.”

His crooked smile was mischievous as he waved her over and unbuttoned the oversized jacket.

Ajay didn’t know what she expected but she knew she absolutely didn’t expect him to pull out an alive creature.

And certainly not for him to be in possession of a bunny.

“I asked my dad for a puppy for Christmas,” Octavio wiggled the weirdly chill rabbit around like he was making it dance, “So his assistant sent this. I named him Navi!”

“Weird looking dog,” Ajay joked, accepting the creature into her arms, “Who the hell thought you should have a rabbit? Gonna stop this poor thing’s heart.”

“Nah, Navi’s real brave,” Octavio watched his little companion regard Ajay curiously, “I even took him on my half-pipe with me.”

Ajay looked scandalized, cradling him against her chest, “Forget his heart, you’re gonna break his damn neck!”

“You’re just jealous that I’ve got a cool daredevil bunny and you don’t,” Octavio liberated the little white bunny back into his arms, smooching him on the head, “I’m gonna ask my dad for a little outfit for him.”

Ajay scrutinized Navi, tiny little nose sniffing at her. She had to admit, this was one strangely calm bunny. Not fighting against being held tightly against his chest at all. Not so much as a flinch as she reached out and ran a hand across his head and down his back.

“I’m a little jealous,” she admitted, “My parents aren’t big on pets.”

“Hey, maybe when we move out we can get you whatever you want as long as it doesn’t want to eat Navi.”

“Bold and incorrect of you to think I’d ever willingly live with you.”

“Aw! Come on, I’d be a great roommate,” Octavio stroked one of Navi’s paws.

“I’ve seen your bedroom and we’ve had sleepovers,” Ajay scoffed, “You’re messy and you flail around wildly in your sleep.”

“I don’t flail that much.”

“You slapped me in the face!”

“Yeah but not like, hard,” Octavio started walking again, towards the very tree she’d fallen out of.

“A slap’s a slap,” Ajay replied, “Why are we revisiting this place anyways? We come up here but like, we kinda avoid the tree.”

Octavio shifted Navi under his left arm and brought out a second surprise gift. A sharp “shink!” noise and a small silvery blade glinting in the moonlight.

“Oh good, you’ve also got a knife. That’s also something you should have.”

“Hold Navi for me,” Octavio handed her his rabbit, approaching and crouching at the base, “It’s been too long, we need to commentate things.”

“Are you going for ‘commemorate’?”

“Look, I’m doing my best,” Octavio started scratching off the tree’s bark with some difficulty, “My vocab may not be the best but you gotta admit. My other grades are surprisingly nice.”

“It’s because you’re dumb but you ain’t stupid, I’m not gonna give you too many points.”

Several sharp gashes later, Octavio had carved in ‘O + A, BFFS’ followed by a few clumsy cuts to make…

“Is that what you think a star is?” Ajay regarded the pitiful messy thing, crouching and swapping the rabbit for the knife, “Give me that. Can’t even draw a star.”

In five neat strokes she drew one around the letters. Followed by another and another.

Satisfied she handed him the knife back.

“There, that’s better.”

“You know, you make a pretty good vandal.”

“Don’t let my dad hear you say that,” Ajay laughed, “He lets you be a bad influence on me but to like. A point.”

“Wait until I get older and harder to contain,” Octavio replied, putting the knife back into his pocket and peeking at his phone, “Almost midnight, c’mon. Fireworks gonna be on the other side of the roof.”

Octavio hopped hedges, she walked around them.

Reaching the edge, he didn’t hesitate to dangle his legs over the side. Gently scratching under Navi’s chin. It was weird for Ajay to see him being so careful about something, normally he was so rough and clumsy with his possessions that he had to replace them within months.

Sliding down next to him, Ajay pet the abnormally calm rabbit herself. His black little eyes closing in contentment.

Little daredevil bunny was going to have a hell of a life.

They could hear the countdown below, see the gaggles of hanger-ons and wannabes who gathered around the buildings. Would be social ladder climbers trying to get a grasp on the lowest rung.

It was weird. Being at the top of that ladder by birth but wanting nothing more than to climb back down.

But they had to stay there for now. Young, unable to live on their own.

They had each other, at least.

As the countdown ticked off the digits, they looked skywards until they hit the end. Cheers from below getting drowned out by the squealing, exploding fireworks that seemed so close up on the rooftop. Lighting them up with technicolors and dazzling them.


End file.
